TEACHERS, FIRST RESPONDERS JOBS BILL MOVES TOWARD A VOTE

The U.S. Senate this week may vote on legislation that would enable some 400,000 teachers, police officers and firefighters to return to work or stay on the job. At a rally on Capitol Hill tomorrow, they will urge the Senate to act quickly and warn lawmakers who try to block or defeat the bill that they will have to answer for their no votes.

The rally—sponsored by AFT, AFSCME, the Fire Fighters and other unions—is set for 2 p.m. (EDT) on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol.

The bill, the Teachers and First Responders Act, mirrors a provision in President Obama’s American Jobs Act that Senate Republicans blocked with a filibuster last week. In his most recent weekly address, Obama said provisions of the bill will be broken out for individual votes.